When grown men cry
October 23, 2009 · 6 Comments
From time to time, the feckless Toronto Maple Leafs turn good coaches, by all accounts reasonably sane people, into wild-eyed crazies.
Ron Wilson appears to be handling the team’s inept start as well as could be expected, given he has trouble relating to the media when he’s winning, never mind losing. Steve Simmons of The Toronto Sun made that point on TSN a few weeks ago. We’ll see how it goes.
With the Leafs winless in seven games and at rock bottom in the NHL standing, let’s take a look back at one coach who couldn’t take it anymore
John Brophy, a minor league thug who became a pretty good minor league coach, was a bad fit in Toronto where the Leafs of the mid-1980s were young, spoiled, soft and over-rated.
The hockey writers called the players “Gerry’s Kids,” after Jerry Lewis’s kids, a reference to general manager Gerry McNamara and his team favourites.
Brophy hated many of the players. And they felt the same way about him.
As the team plummeted in the 1987-88 standing (they would finish out of the playoffs with a 21-49-10 win-loss-tie record), the pressure built. The media howled. You never knew what was going to come out of the mouth of the team owner Harold Ballard. And McNamara, desperate to keep his job, was blaming it all on Brophy.
The players, as I recall, pretty much got a free pass.
The following is a recording of a post-game meltdown by Brophy after a loss to the Minnesota North Stars. The team was on the road, because Lance Hornby of the Sun is the only reporter asking questions. In Toronto, there would have been a scrum.
Early in the first tape, you will hear Brophy break down and almost cry. And, of course, there’s plenty of profanity.
He was fired the following season.
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Mr. Houston,
I’ve been reading your work for decades, and I’m ecstatic to see you’re back! Thanks for telling the truth.
Q: What do the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Titanic have in common?
A: They both look good till they hit the ice!
Q: What will happen when the Leafs finally win the Stanley Cup?
A: Someone will finally turn their Xbox off!
Q: What’s the difference between the Leafs and a triangle?
A: A triangle has 3 points!
I remember in the 80’s some clowns at the Saddledome – die hard western Leafs fans, to boot – running around the place with a mock Stanley Cup and a sign that read “GIVE BROPHY HIS TROPHY” and cheering Broph at his every turn.
Yeah, the Leats sucked then too, but at least the crap they peddled was tangentially entertaining, unlike now, where its just dull and humourless less-than-mediocrity.
Just look at some of the guys that Broph had on that team: Tom Fergus, Russ Courtnall, Al Iafrate … no wonder he was going nuts.
Another great media moment from that era was when Gerry McNamara did an interview with Dave Hodge on CHCH during the intermission of an early season game during, I believe, the 1986-87 season. McNamara rarely did interviews and was sweating profusely during this one. He had been criticized many times over the years and took the opportunity, with the Leafs off to a great start that season, to get his revenge on the media that night. I recall the comment “eating crow” coming out of McNamara’s mouth on several occasions that evening. It was one of the most memorable moments in Maple Leaf history. It is a shame that that interview is not on YouTube although someone must have a copy of it somewhere.
I echo the comment that it is great to see Bill Houston back in business.
One correction:
The 1987-88 Leafs did indeed have a lousy 21-49-10 record but they did not miss the playoffs that season.
Minnesota had an even worse record so the Leafs made the playoffs because of the division they played in at that time